Flamingo Rituals
by FrostyFingers
Summary: Lizzie is an intern at Crane, Pool & Schmidt, when she meets Alan Shore. - This is a Sheen fic, so basically Alan Shore/Lizzie Keen. Written for my friend tmmachado! Rating will go up to M at some point.
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** This is for my wonderful and only slightly pushy friend, tmmachado. Love you, dude! You've asked for that fic for months and now you're gonna get it. It's a Sheen fic. And my first try. Hope you'll like this and that I didn't screw it up. Rating will go up to M at some point. A special thanks goes out to redisthenewblackington for being a wonderful beta and for suggesting this oh so fitting title.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own TBL or BL. I just like playing with the Spades...

**Chapter 1**

It was the end of October and time for the annual Halloween party at Crane, Poole and Schmidt, and even though they'd had a little disagreement earlier, both Alan and Denny were dressed as flamingos, their fluffy bodies almost too big to fit through the door. They looked cute, no one could deny it, and even though Denny would not say so, he was glad that he and Alan were back to being flamingos. He never could stay mad at his best friend.

Alan was at the bar, fetching drinks for Denny and himself when he saw her. At first it had only been her mop of brown hair, then the fine curve of her body, and then she had turned around and he felt his heart pick up its pace. She was probably the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, with some of her curly hair peeking from under the hood she was wearing. Without fully understanding just what was happening, Alan felt his legs move rather quickly into the opposite direction of the beautiful young woman, and before he knew it, he was running; as quickly as he could, while still wearing the flamingo costume.

"Denny! Denny!" He shouted as he rounded the corner to where he knew his friend was waiting. "Denny!"

"Geez, Alan, did you poop your pants? Where are the drinks?"

He was panting as he finally came to a stop in front of the older man. "There's, there's that absolutely stunning girl! Have you seen her? Who is she?"

"Who's who?"

"The girl!"

"What girl?"

"Damn it, Denny! The girl! She's out in the hall!" Alan almost tripped over his words. "She's stunning! Brown, curly hair and beautiful blue eyes. A smile to die for." He trailed off with a dreamy look on his face.

Denny grunted. "Who is she?"

"I don't know! That's what I just asked you!"

He grunted again and then started walking out of the room. "I need to check her out then. Whatever she looks like, she's mine."

A hand grabbed his flamingo tail and he was roughly pulled back. "Forget it, Denny, I saw her first!"

"Alan," he whined. "You're my best friend. Sharing is caring."

The younger man shook his head. "Keep your hands to yourself. She's my Shirley, back off."

"She can't be your Shirley. You don't even know her!"

"Denny," Alan warned. "You will leave her alone."

"Fine!" He threw his hands up and started walking again, stopping at the doorway to lurk around the corner. Not even a second later he pulled his head back and looked at his friend. "5'6'' tall brunette?"

"Yes!"

"My god, she's beautiful, Alan!" Denny exclaimed.

"I know!" He replied. "Do you know her?"

Both men poked their heads around the corner, their tall flamingo heads almost hitting another associate. When they pulled back, Denny turned to Alan. "Isn't that the new intern?"

"Intern?" Alan asked. "What intern?"

"Yeah, Shirley hired a new intern. I don't know if it's her. I need another look." Sticking his head back out, Denny made a satisfied noise at the back of his throat. "That skirt doesn't even reach her knees."

"Denny!" Alan hit his back, his hand bouncing off of the stuffed material. "Back off!"

"Don't be such a drama queen, Alan. I'm just looking," he said. "So, what's the deal? Go talk to her."

"You think I should?" Once more both men leaned over to look at the young woman, before giving each other a look. "Got it," Alan agreed and took a calming breath. He normally wasn't this nervous, but the brunette beauty was at least fifteen years younger by the looks of it.

Brushing some invisible lint from his costume, he made his way over to where she was standing, currently all by herself and without a drink in her hand. This was his chance. Making a pit stop at the bar, Alan ordered drinks for the lady and himself and then continued towards her.

"So, you've finally decided to stare at me up close, instead of from across the room?" She asked, before turning fully around to look at him.

He took an instant liking to her. Not only was she even more beautiful close up and smelled heavenly, she was also a saucy, challenging young lady. "Maybe you wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't been watching me as well."

"It's kind of hard to miss two 8-foot tall flamingo costumes."

"Alan Shore," he told her, holding out his hand.

Taking his offered hand without hesitation, she shot him a small smile. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Shore. I'm Elizabeth. Elizabeth Scott."

"Elizabeth," Alan repeated. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Please call me Alan." He gave her his most charming smile and nodded towards the drink in his hand. "Would you care for a drink?"

"Why, thank you," she replied, accepting the offered glass.

"So, this is going to sound like a bad pick-up line, but I haven't seen you around here before."

She took a sip from her glass before answering. "I've just started as an intern. I thought I should get an idea what an everyday lawyer's doing."

"You may be disappointed. I'm not your everyday lawyer, and this is not your everyday firm. Maybe you should spend some time with me, and see for yourself," he said huskily, leaning in just a tad.

Liz didn't look impressed, instead she held his gaze in silence for another moment. "That was corny."

Alan blinked in surprise. "It was?"

"Very much so. Corny and absolutely horrible."

He raised the glass tumbler to his lips and took another sip. "I take it you also wouldn't appreciate a comment about me being the big bad wolf to your Red Riding Hood." It wasn't a question.

She threw her head back and laughed, her eyes bright. "Please don't." He loved the sound of her laughter and couldn't help but smile at her. "Also you could hardly be considered a wolf."

"Oh, and why is that, Elizabeth?" He asked, raising a brow at her.

"Liz," she corrected softly. "For starters, you're a flamingo."

She was right about that. "Well, I'd go so far as to say that flamingos are the better lovers." She choked on her drink and started coughing, earning herself a bemused look from her opponent. "They don't call it the 'magical courtship dance of the flamingo' for nothing."

After calming down again, she tried another sip of her beverage to soothe her throat. "'Magical courtship dance'."

He made a noise in agreement. "But if you'd prefer, I can also be a wolf between the sheets." As expected she blushed heavily at his words.

"Alan, stop harassing the new intern." Shirley said, coming to a stop next to them.

"Harrassing her?" He sputtered. "Am I harassing you, Liz?" Alan asked, giving her a sweet look.

"Uhm… no, you're fine."

"See, Shirley? All is well."

"Alan," the blonde started, giving him a hard look. "The girl just wants some insight on the practice of law. Is that what you're discussing?"

"Mating, actually." His eyes sparkled at the sheer pleasure of insubordination.

"What?" The older woman's eyes grew.

"We were talking about mating," Alan explained with a cheeky smile.

Liz quietly watched the exchange, daring neither to move nor speak.

"For god's sake, Alan, you incorrigible letch, stop it. She's too young for you!"

The man rolled his eyes, somewhat annoyed to be considered old. "And just how young would that be?"

"I'm twenty-one," Liz offered.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** So, since tmmachado still wants more, here's more. Dude, I miss you lots! Special thanks to redisthenewblackington for being an absolutely amazing beta and friend! Thanks so much!

**Disclaimer:** I'm skipping this part

**Chapter 2**

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Alan intended to continue the pleasant conversation that he was having with Liz. As long as they were legal, he had never really cared about a woman's age, but the task of flirting up this younger woman was a little tough to accomplish with Shirley playing cock-block. Could she just go away already?

Knowing that she would not leave them alone though, Alan decided to give it a rest, as least for the moment. "Well, Liz, it was a true pleasure to meet you. I should get back to my flamingo."

While Shirley just rolled her eyes at him, the brunette smiled. "Are you having a flamboyance?" She asked.

The grin on his face couldn't have been bigger. "You know about flamingos!"

"I've always found them… quite interesting," she said, blushing slightly.

She was just the right mixture of saucy and sweet, and he couldn't wait to start operation: Woo Elizabeth Scott. He wanted her, badly, and he would try his hardest to get her. Sooner or later, they all fall for him. He's just that good.

"Ladies." He dramatically bowed down, drawing a chuckle from the brunette beauty. With a wink, he walked or rather waddled back to his friend.

Denny had been watching from down the corridor, anxiously awaiting Alan's return. As soon as the younger man was back at his side, he pressed a tumbler of scotch into his hand. "Everything was going great," Alan started.

"Shirley played cock-block?"

"Shirley played cock-block."

Denny stuck a cigar in his mouth without lightening it. Carl would have his head if he smoked inside, though it was still his name on the door! "She does that sometimes," he mumbled past the tobacco filled goodness between his lips. "'specially when she feels threatened."

Alan snorted. "I don't think she feels threatened, Denny. She just wants to keep me out of Liz's pants."

"Liz? That's her?"

"Elizabeth, yes."

"She's hot, Alan. Really hot!"

The younger man turned to look back at the woman he had just talked with, catching her looking back at him. He gave her a smile and saw her blush in return, before she bit her lip and looked away.

"She's incredibly beautiful," he agreed. "She likes flamingos."

Both gave each other a mock-astonished but pleased look, their eyebrows raised and mouths formed like an 'o'. "I like her already," Denny told his friend.

"Me too, Denny, me too. Come on, let's have our flamboyance on the balcony."

**SheenSheenSheen**

The next day Liz was bored stiff, researching a case for Brad Chase. At the moment, she was honestly considering leaving to find a more exciting career path. He could have at least given her a criminal defense case. It wasn't as if she would be second chairing or anything.

She was startled when a warm hand touched her back, and looked up to see her new friend standing next to her, leaning his hip against her desk. "Hello, Liz."

"Alan," she greeted back.

"Let me tell you, you look even more gorgeous without that dress." A junior associate overheard his comment and looked up in shock, his expression that of a deer caught in a car's headlights.

They watched the younger man scurry away, and Alan couldn't suppress a smile. When he turned back to Liz, he saw that she was giving him a look. "Was that really necessary?" she asked.

"What?" He feigned innocence. Liz rolled her eyes. "All I'm saying is that you looked good in that costume, and even better now." She shook her head but couldn't suppress her smile. "So, Liz, how about lunch?"

Inside, she was a mess. The man made her nervous to no end. It had been a while since she had broken up with her boyfriend, but that wasn't a serious relationship anyway. Hoping to hide her inexperience, she straightened ever so slightly, pretending that she was confident, even though she wasn't. A proposition spilled from her lips a little too quickly. "I make a habit of eating lunch every day."

Alan laughed out loud. He really did like her. "Would you mind if I joined you today then? I know this wonderful little restaurant. Their food is incredible!"

"That sounds nice," she said, trying to keep her voice steady.

A big grin spread over his face then. "Wonderful," he exclaimed, pushing himself up from the desk. "I'll meet you here in…" Alan drew his sleeve back and checked his watch. "An hour?"

"Okay," she agreed, trying to keep her voice level.

He looked at her for another moment and then touched her arm lightly. "I'll see you soon then."

Liz couldn't do anything but smile back.

An hour later, Liz found herself anxiously walking down the halls of Crane, Poole & Schmidt. She wouldn't just fall in love with the next man that she met, not after the nightmare of her last boyfriend. Tom had been more than angry when she told him that she didn't want to have sex with him so early in their relationship, and he soon disappeared. After his reaction, Liz knew that she had made the right choice, but that didn't make his derisive comments any less hurtful.

Maybe Tom didn't want to believe it, but she wasn't trying to save herself for marriage, and she wasn't adhering to any moral or religious standards of sexual conduct either. After waiting for so long though, she couldn't help wanting a little romance for her first time. She wanted it to happen with a gentle, caring man, but Tom obviously didn't give a damn about her, period. End of story.

"You ready?" She jumped at the unexpected interuption of her thoughts. Turning her head, she could see just how close Alan was, his warm breath ghosting over her skin. "I'm sorry, did I startle you?" It seemed like he enjoyed touching her whenever he had the chance. The hand at her lower back made that clear.

"It's fine. Yeah, I'm ready," she replied. "So, where are we going?"

"I enjoy some quiet after all of the buzzing noises in here. I doubt that you've heard of the place. It's certainly a 'hole in the wall'-type of restaurant, but that's exactly why I love it. You'll see."

Liz tried not to shiver when his hand slipped even lower, now resting just above the curve of her butt. She wasn't turned off, but she also wasn't used to that kind of attention. It made her incredibly nervous.

Like he had promised, the restaurant was a small, quiet place, and they served Vietnamese cuisine. The owner seemed to know Alan, judging by the big grin on the small man's face as he drew him into a hug.

Ever the gentleman, he pulled out a chair for Liz and waited until she was seated before sitting down himself. He asked permission to choose their dishes and she gladly agreed. She had only tried Vietnamese food once or twice before, and Alan was obviously a regular at the place. She trusted him.

Their conversation over lunch was easy and not forced at all. He told her about himself, and how he ended up as a flamingo at Crane, Poole & Schmidt. Liz loved listening to the stories about him and Denny. She loved watching his hands flying around as he told the wildest tales, the big smile on his face, and the dreamy look in his eyes.

"You love him, don't you?" She asked.

"Very much so," Alan answered softly.

"A friendship like that is very rare. Probably happens only once in a lifetime."

He gave her a smile, appreciating her view on his friendship with Denny. "That is true. I wouldn't give him up for anything, even though he tends to be on the crazy side at times."

"I hadn't noticed," she replied jokingly.

They continued their light-hearted banter until it was time to get back to the firm again. Liz fought to pay the cheque, but Alan wouldn't hear it. There was no way he'd let her pay, and she reluctantly gave in, thanking him politely.

As they walked back, Liz felt her shoulder occasionally brush against Alan's and she found herself bumping into him on purpose every now and then until he finally linked his arm with hers, pulling her a little bit closer. "So, Liz, when can we finally work together?"

"I'd love to, but Brad dumped a mountain of busywork on me this week. It's so boring! I think I even fell asleep once."

He made a disgruntled noise in the back of his throat. "I can assure you, working with me is anything but boring."

She tugged on his arm. "Then get me out of there. Please!"

Alan chuckled at that and then patted her hand. "Don't worry. I'll talk to Shirley and see what I can do. We can't have your intelligence wasted on Captain America."

"Captain America?"

"Yes. Our dear Brad is a wannabe superhero," he replied with a wink.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** Here's the next chapter of my somewhat crazy AU/Sheen fic! Thank you for your reviews. Special thanks to redisthenewblackington for beta-ing this. Also, this is based on a true story... A couple of years ago... oh, just forget I said anything

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything.

**Chapter 3**

Two weeks had passed since their lunch date, and though Alan had tried, really tried to get Liz to agree to another date, it seemed like the girl was reluctant to agree. He would have given up eventually… maybe… at some point… okay, so maybe he would've given up anyway, but her body language whenever he was near told him that she wasn't _not_ interested in him. It was slighlty perplexing, but it gave him enough reason to not give up on her just yet. He hadn't quite gotten Shirley to agree on borrowing the young intern for his own cases, but with a little more persuasion he would be able to. He was Alan Shore after all.

He was currently sitting in Denny's office, watching the older man working on a dark blue tie as he was getting ready for a dinner date with a one-legged woman. "Denny, can I ask you a question?"

"No, Alan, no threesome tonight. I know we've talked about this and it will happen at some point, but not with her."

He shook his head. "What, no! That's _not_ what I meant." He crossed one leg over the other and leaned further into the couch. "It's about Liz."

Denny grunted, pleased at the mental images of the young brunette. "Ready to seal the deal yet?"

Alan frowned at him. "Nowhere close, but that's not the point. With her, I don't know where I stand. She doesn't let on if she's even interested."

"I thought your lunch date went alright."

"It did. She was open and didn't seem antipathetic at all, but she's rather distant now, though I can see her body twitching whenever I'm near. It's very… confusing."

"Seen her body twitching, huh?"

"Denny," Alan chastised with a glare.

"Alan," the older man replied, walking over to where his best friend was sitting. "Maybe she's just shy."

He sighed. "Yeah, maybe."

Denny clapped him on the shoulder. "Why don't you go ask her out for drinks? Maybe some alcohol can loosen her up." Alan didn't move. "She's still here."

"She is?" He asked, his spine straightening.

He nodded. "Shirley has her working on something, I don't know what it is. I wasn't listening."

Alan was already standing up. "Thank you, Denny. Have a good night."

"Oh, I will. And you go get your girl."

Walking down the hall, he straightened his tie and brushed his fingers through his hair. He saw her sitting at her desk, nose buried in some books. She looked absolutely adorable with her hair in a lazy ponytail. He leaned against the doorway and knocked gently on the wood, drawing her out of her thoughts. He gave her a smile when she looked up.

"You're still here."

"So are you," he replied. "Can I come in?"

She nodded. "Of course."

Alan looked around the room, before his eyes settled on her once again. "I see Shirley has given you your own office."

"Yes. It's nice, but a little quiet at times."

"Sometimes I enjoy the quiet," he told her.

"Me, too, but sometimes it just gets too boring," she replied. "So, is there something I can help you with?"

"Actually, yes." He smiled at her. "I could use a drink. Would you like to accompany me?"

Her whole posture shifted and suddenly she looked nervous again. "Uhm… I… I…"

He walked over to the coatstand and took her coat off the rack. "Humor me."

"I don't know… I still have some paperwork to go through…"

"Lizzie," he interrupted, not even noticing the nickname slipping from his lips. "Please. I hate drinking alone." He cocked his head to the side.

"Okay. But just one drink. I have to get up rather early."

He grinned as he helped her into the sleeves. "I will personally tuck you in if need be." She blushed heavily at that, but remained silent.

SheenSheenSheen

"There's something about you…" Alan started, after Liz had once again fallen silent. "You're…" His hands were in the air as he tried to find the right words. "You're… closed tight. Wall."

"I know," Liz answered.

"Do you ever loosen up?"

She sighed. "I don't know," she replied honestly.

He mustered her for a moment, a small smile on his face, before he sat up, leaning forward. "Let me be frank with you."

"Okay…" She bit her bottom lip and started playing with the straw in her cocktail and Alan thought she couldn't look more adorable.

"I like you, Lizzie."

Her cheeks turned slightly crimson and he stopped for a moment to just take in her features. "I usually don't like it when people call me that."

He raised a brow at her. "Call you what?"

"Lizzie."

"Oh. Would you like me to stop?"

She looked up through her eyelashes and smiled shyly at him. "No."

A weight was lifted off his heart at her words. "As I was saying, I really like you, Lizzie and I would like to take you out to dinner some time." He felt bolt and gently traced over her fingers that were still fiddling with the straw. "Would you like that?"

"I think I would like that," she replied softly.

They continued sitting in silence, staring at each other, while his fingers continued stroking over her hand.

"Can I get you anything else?" The waitress interrupted.

Alan shot Lizzie a questioning look. "I'm fine," she said.

He nodded. "Can we get the check, please?" He noticed her searching for through her handbag then. "I hope you're not looking for your wallet."

She stopped and looked up at him. "As a matter of fact, I am."

"You're not paying," he told her. "No. Don't even try."

After settling their bill, Alan insisted on walking her to her train. Their hands occassionally brushed until he finally linked his pinky finger with her. Liz thought her heart might jump out of her chest at the touch. And people said Alan Shore was a sexist. Really, how cute was he right now?!

Together they sauntered towards the station, pinkies laced together. The display said that her train would be coming in ten minutes, so they still had some time left. "You don't have to wait with me," she said.

"No, it's quite alright. If you're not letting me take you home, then at least let me make sure you get onto your train."

She smiled and then looked off to the side. Seeing her exposed neck, he couldn't resist any longer. He leaned in a placed a soft kiss upon it, deeply inhaling her sweet scent. Alan felt her turn her head towards him, just before their lips finally met. He hummed against her mouth, before pulling back slightly. Both their eyes were half-mast and their pupils were already enlarged. Alan took her bag from her hands and placed it on the ground, whispering more to himself than to her, "Do we even know where we are?" Before he cupped her face in his hands, pulling her back for a passionate kiss, where teeth nibbled on the other's lips and tongues met in a slow tango.

Liz wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged herself closer to him, relishing his warmth. After a couple of minutes they parted, both slightly breathless and he bent down to pick up her bag. "Let's go over there," he said in a hoarse voice, leading her towards a secluded spot at the end of the track. As soon as they were away from prying eyes, Alan pressed her against the nearest wall and attacked her mouth once more, as his fingers started unbuttoning her coat, trying to get even closer to her warm skin. Since his coat was open already, Liz placed her hands beneath the thick cloth and his suit jacket on either side of his ribcage, fisting his dress shirt.

His lips descended to her neck as one of his hands gently grabbed her right breast, squeezing it slighty and coaxing a low moan from her throat. With his free hand he grabbed one of hers and placed it where he desperately needed to be touched, holding it there and bucking into it, groaning into her ear at the sensation. Their lips met again and Alan pressed her further against the wall, while he let his tongue explore her mouth. He couldn't get enough of her, the way she smelled, the way she tasted. She was perfect and he wanted her in every possible way.

Just before they could get arrested for having sex in a public place, her train arrived at the station and they broke apart panting. The look on his face told her that he was far from finished. "I need to go," she whispered.

He made a displeased noise in the back of his throat, pulling her in for another quick kiss. Before it could get out of hand, Liz pushed him away gently. She touched his cheek and gave him a soft smile, before she walked towards the incoming train. Looking back, she could see Alan slumped against the wall, a dreamy look on his face. She hurried back to him, grabbed the lapels of his coat and crushed her mouth against his one last time, before she quickly turned and jumped onto her train, leaving the man with a longing feeling in his chest.


End file.
